Following Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Trafford in the Manchester Premier Cup, Phillips said that Saunders has left, citing he has lost his passion for the game and calls time on his non-league football career.

He told Chronicle Sport’s Mark Philip after the game: “To be fair, Russ has, in a way, said he has fallen out of love with football, so it was wage that we couldn’t afford that we were having to try to find, so I’ve gone back in [goal] and tried to get a bit fitter.

“If someone comes about that we can change who can come in and it’s the right price, same again we’ll make the decision.

“But I don’t think I’ve disgraced myself like I did on Saturday, poor, conceding three goals. We’ve let two in tonight [against Trafford on Tuesday] but I don’t think there was much I could do about them. I thought we defended quite well, it was just a matter of different people making different mistakes.”